SITE NEWS

October 2nd, 2003 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

If any of you came to the site first thing yesterday, you may have noticed it wasn’t here.

The reasoning for that is pretty simple. It’s because I recently moved hosting over to Futaidnet.com and my domain started pointing to their servers on Wednesday.

Recovery time should be minimal. There were some issues with the comic and news display scripts that needed attention. Many thanks to ComradeF and Futaid himself for helping set things straight!

The only other problem the site is having right now is that the forum is down. This is partially due to having no database behind it on the new server and partially because I’m so swamped with other things, I don’t have time to get it up and running just yet.

Fortunately, I made a back up of the forum on Tuesday, so those of you who visit there should be in good shape when it comes back.

If any of you have had the experience of moving servers and tring to resussitate a forum let me know. I’d be interested in your input.

Last bit of site news I’ll mention – we have a new advertiser! Everyone say hello to Comic Stack! It’s a great web site that covers EVERYTHING comics. All the way from Marvel to the tinest web offering. I love combing through their articles for the latest news. Check it out. It’s a great site.

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MR. CLEAN FOR GOV’NA

September 26th, 2003 | by Jared
Posted In: Blog

I must admit, when I saw the trailer for The Matrix Revolutions, I got goosebumps. My inner geek dialed up to eleven. (That is one more than ten.) Though I was disappointed in the last installment of the series, the Wachowski Brothers will not be disappointed when I pay my $7.75 to experience the revolution.

Patti and I rented The Wash, due to her fixation with Pauly Shore. I knew his appearance would be brief, so I warned her before we started the flick. Indeed, his performance was limited to a short cameo. This film did not stretch any barriers. If you are a fan of the genre, (goofball chronic smokin’ booty pimp comedy-mystery rapper films)you may enjoy it, otherwise your time is probably better spent watching Friday.

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CONVENTION NEWS

September 26th, 2003 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

As most of you are aware, next week I will be attending the Minnesota FallCon in the lovely city of St. Paul (soon I’ll be placing a banner to this effect so you’ll NEVER FORGET!)

But it dawned on me that probably 90% of the people at this con aren’t going to know who I am. I’d better pack some materials to introduce people to Theater Hopper.

What I plan on doing is just printing out a few strips and placing them in a binder for people to flip through when they stop by. Here’s where I need your help:

Help me pick which strips to include!

I think I have a pretty good idea what is funny and what isn’t, but often I get messages from people telling me “That strip was hilarious!” or “That strip was lame” and find myself diametrically opposed. So I’ve decided to remove myself from the process of selection.

If you can e-mail me your favorite strips or storylines, that would be great. If you’re interested in leaving feedback in the forum, there’s a thread already in place for that. Thanks!

POSTERS

Phase Two of my convention plan: Merchandising.

At the convention, I plan on selling two posters. The cast shot that I am currently selling at the site, and a BRAND NEW poster that visitors to the con will take first crack at.

It’s entirely possible that I could sell out of the first poster because there are only 30 left. So if it ever occurred to you to buy one of our first edition posters, now is the time to do it before they’re all gone. If I sell out at the convention, you’ll be S.O.L. because they will never again be reproduced.

If you’d like to order a poster, click here for more information.

This is one half of the news I wanted to give you. Check back a little later for some info about some possible downtime Theater Hopper could experience.

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UNDERTHERE

September 17th, 2003 | by Jared
Posted In: Blog

I found today’s strip to be very funny. I for one will definately check out the strip tomorrow (as if I am not checking it daily anyway.)

I am looking forward to seeing Underworld. If Kate Beckinsale looks half as good in this movie as she was in Serendipity, then I know the movie will be sweet. (I know looks aren’t everything, but she is obviously cool and that is the most important thing.)

If I am not making any sense, it could be the cold medicine.

Anyway, I rented the movies Scratch and Dead Calm. Scratch is a documentary about turntablism. It was pretty cool. It inspired me to dust off my 1200’s and spin a few tunes before remembering why I gave up the dream of becoming a turntablist myself. #1 I suck at it.

Still fun though.

Dead Calm was dead cool. I liked it a lot, though I wanted to know more about Billy Zane’s experiences before hooking up with Nicole Kidaman and Sam Neill.

I also watched City Slickers 2 and was entertained. It was quite a bit better than I had envisioned, but still not as good as the original. Every time I look at Billy Crystal I think of his character in Monsters Inc.

I went to see Once Upon a Time in Mexico last Saturday. I was again entertained, but I am unsure if I really liked it or thought it was good. It definately had good parts, but as a whole the movie was a little jumbled. This would not be a good film for someone who can’t apply suspension on disbelief. A great (as usual) performance from Johnny Depp helped this movie greatly.

Stick around for the closing credits. There is a lot of crazy guitar music which takes advantage of the surround sound.

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ORIGINAL ART?

September 17th, 2003 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

I noticed Absath from Ctrl+Alt+Del is auctioning off an original piece of art on eBay and it got me thinking that this is something I could be doing as well.

One problem: Is anyone interested?

Fire off an e-mail and let me know if you would buy an original piece of artwork from yours truly.

I’m also considering selling commissioned pieces at the Minneapolis FallCon this October 4 and 5. If that goes well, I might carry over the offer to the site.

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SITE GETS A HAIRCUT

September 12th, 2003 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

Hey gang. I just wanted to leave a quick note to inform you of a small change to the front page of the site.

I’m not sure if everyone was aware of it, but beneath the blogs, there used to be a little drop down menu called “CHOOSE YOUR FAVORITE STRIP!”

I’ve removed this option from the front page because, frankly, it was bogging the site down. It occured to me after looking at the source code from the page and it included the date, name and numerical order of every strip. I realized it just wasn’t worth it.

I don’t know if it was a feature many of you employed or not, but hopefully you should notice an decrease in the amount of time it takes the site to load. Besides, we’ve got a great archive page that will help you find everything you’re looking for.

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HEY, KID! WANNA BUY AN AD?

September 10th, 2003 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

I just wanted to remind everyone that we have an open space for advertising your web site there under the logo of the site.

Prices are very fair and I promise to pimp you out until I’m blue in the face.

If you feel like doing business with a reputable, hard-working Midwesterner, more information on the subject can be found here.

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THE FOURTH WALL NEEDS MAINTENANCE

September 8th, 2003 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

I was kind of sitting on this joke for a little while waiting to use it for a Monday strip when I knew more people would read it. I hope you like it.

I’m usually not one to call attention to “The 4th Wall.” In all honesty, one of my unofficial rules when I started Theater Hopper was to never break it. I always kind of viewed it as a cheap out.

But with American Splendor being all about the dissolution between reality in entertainment (decades before reality TV or LiveJournal, I might add), the joke was too perfect to pass up.

I’m really looking forward to seeing the film. It won’t come to Des Moines until this Friday, but I plan on checking it out early. There’s a lot of good stuff out this weekend. I’m going to be busy!

I’ve received some e-mails from people in other areas of the country where American Splendor is currently playing and I’m hearing nothing but positive reviews. I’ve always been a fan of Paul Giamatti, so I’m looking forward to it.

My good friend Nick suggested renting the documentary Crumb to help flesh out the experience. Since R. Crumb was a frequent artistic collaborator to Splendor’s author, Harvey Pekar, that’s good advice. I intend to follow through sometime this week.

Did anyone else notice that Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star was number one at the box office this week? I can’t say it was an enormous victory. It only raked in $7 million.

The last number one movie to rake in that little was the Ashley Judd thriller Eye of the Beholder in January of 2000. It only did $6 million in business.

When that’s the case, how much pride can David Spade really take home after getting his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame?

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MEET ME!

September 5th, 2003 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

Well, it’s not 100% official, but it looks like I’ll be going to Minnesota soon for my VERY FIRST comic book convention! I’m getting really excited for it.

Setting up a booth at a convention is going to be a really big step for me. It’ll be an opportunity to meet the fans and maybe sell a little merchandise in a market a little larger than Des Moines.

The real kicker to this event is that there is a strong likelyhood that I will be sharing table space with Zach from No Pants Tuesday, Mitch from Nothing Nice to Say and Carrington from Movie Punks (driving all the way from Toronto!)

This little scheme of ours has been in the works since late spring at least. Finally things are coming together.

So if you feel like coming to Minneapolis to meet the 4 of us, mark your calendar for Saturday, October 4 and Sunday, October 5. It’ll be a blast. If you’re interested in learning more about the convention, you can find their website here.

Oh, and Carrington, if you’re reading this – Send me or Zach an e-mail with your instant messenger address if you have. We need some information to submit to the convention organizers to confirm our table reservation.

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A “SPINNING YOUR WHEELS” KIND OF MOMENT

September 3rd, 2003 | by Tom
Posted In: Blog

I’ve been batting around the idea of starting a second web comic – something more informal than Theater Hopper. Not exactly experimental, but less confined by deadlines or expectations.

Lately I’ve been feeling the need to branch out a little bit, but I really like the direction Theater Hopper is going. So it might be time to do something new.

I really enjoy The Journal Comic and have just discovered the Urban Transmission Project. I’m thinking of doing a journal comic along those same lines.

I’d probably follow The Journal Comic’s template in terms of style and update schedule (of course the art wouldn’t be as awesome). But I’m particularly struck by the ellegance of black and white drawings. Plus, I’d like to have the flexability of updating when I feel like it and working in panel arrangements that aren’t so tethered to the 4 panel job I have going here.

I don’t know. I guess I’m just thinking out loud.

If you have a reaction, hit me up in the forums or by e-mail

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